Chicago looking to set NHL record, Sharks looking to avoid season sweep as road trip continues

CHICAGO – All the attention here is focused on the Blackhawks having a chance tonight to break the NHL record for most consecutive games without a regulation loss to start the season. And all the Sharks have to do is look at Chicago’s 13-0-3 performance to know they have their work cut out for them.

But for San Jose, maybe the more relevant backdrop is the fact this is their third game against Chicago in the last 17 days and their last chance to show they can compete with the team considered the league’s best at the moment.

“It’s a six point swing in a 48-game season,” McLellan said of the three games the Sharks play against Chicago in this abbreviated season. “You don’t get a chance ot get those points back and it really gives them a cushion that’s quite large and quite big.

“You have to look at your overall schedule,” he continued, “but you also have to look at season series against certain teams. We’d love to get two points in the bank against this team, get a little bit of confidence, be able to play in this building successfully. That’s a great challenge for our group today.”

The Sharks twice blew two-goal leads against the Blackhawks before dropping a 5-3 decision at HP Pavilion on Feb. 5. One week ago, Chicago was clearly the stronger team here at the United Center, skating away with a 4-1 victory.

Nobody wants to be swept in a season series, even if it’s only three games.

“Especially when we looked so good to start the game in San Jose and to let that slip was hard,” Ryane Clowe said.

Douglas Murray said the Sharks “definitely need to prove to them and prove to ourselves that we can play the way we should. We’ve been very sloppy at times against them in different areas of our game. They’re an elite team obviously, number one in the league right now. And when you’re sloppy, they make you pay.”

Murray, of course, had his pocket picked by Chicago captain Jonathan Toews for what proved to be the winning goal in that 5-3 loss in San Jose. Does that make this a little more personal?

“You can’t do that because then I’m worrying about the wrong things,” Murray said. “I take it more personal that I let the team down that night. You never know what play costs you the game and obviously that was a game-winning goal. I worry more about doing it right now.”

****Toews disappeared early from the Chicago locker room, so I didn’t get a chance to ask him about his fight with Joe Thornton last Friday night. Toews’s comments after the game had an “enough was enough” tone about them, though from the press box it looked as if Thornton was the one taking a little abuse before the fists flew. Oh well.

****The Blackhawks will have both Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook back in the lineup. Tests apparently showed that Hossa did not suffer a concussion from that hit that cost Vancouver’s Jannik Hansen a one-game suspension and Seabrook is back after missing a game after taking a well-hit puck to the groin. And in the role of fourth-line agitator, look for Dan Carcillo to be back after missing all but one game this season with a knee injury.

Ray Emery, who beat the Sharks a week ago, will be back in net. And, yes, Antti Niemi getting the start for San Jose.

*****Getting back to Chicago’s attempt to go a record 17 games without a regulation loss, McLellan’s better quote came yesterday when the subject came up — “Somebody’s got to stop them eventually. We’re the next team on the list so let’s do it.”

But he and the Sharks talked again today the motivation they can draw from being the team that keeps Chicago from setting that record.

McLellan, for example, was asked if that makes this a bigger game than usual for the opposing team.

“I think it does,” he said. “I think it can give us an external motivator. I’;d rather it be internal – I’d rather us talk about getting on a winning streak with one in the bank now. I’d rather it come from our locker room and not use their situation as the driver, but I’d be lying if I said otherwise. I think it does give us a bit of a push, but it probably gives their team a push, too. They’re excited they’re at that point now where they can set a record.”

Here’s what Ryane Clowe had to say on the subject:

“They’re going for a record here at home and it’ll be a great test for us. More than anything, it’ll be a test to see where we’re at right now. If we can win this game tonight, it’ll do a lot for us confidence-wise and knock them down a bit.”

*****Clowe, of course, is still looking for his first goal of the season. How frustrated does that make him?

“If you beat yourself up, you’ll go another 15 games without a goal,” he said. “I know how I’ve got to play and when I’m playing my game, offensively things happen. I feel like I’m playing good. I think I’ve had more shots on goal 5-on-5 than any 15-game stretch in the past. But it’s not what you want at the start of the year.”

*****Look for TJ Galiardi on the fourth line with Adam Burish and Andrew Desjardins now that Matt Pelech has been sent to Worcester. And look for Jason Demers on the third d-pairing with Murray, not Justin Braun.

Other than that, the lineup and lines should be unchanged from the start of the St. Louis game that ended San Jose’s losing streak at seven.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.